Spring on Pluto: An analysis over 30 years

Whenever it passes in front of a star, Pluto provides precious information about its atmosphere, precious because occultations by Pluto are rare. The survey achieved by researchers from Paris Observatory over several decades of observations appears in the journal Astronomy and As … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Research team leads the way in a green chemistry breakthrough for renewables

Electrolytic water splitting is widely understood to be the most feasible method for the production of green hydrogen fuel as a versatile means of storage and long-range transportation for the intermittent renewable energy. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

3-D printing to save dogs' day

3-D printed models of dog skulls are helping University of Queensland vets to save animals and educate tomorrow's veterinary students. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Researchers discover an unexpected phase transition in the high explosive TATB

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists in collaboration with University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) have discovered a previously unknown pressure induced phase transition for TATB that can help predict detonation performance and safety of the explosive. The resea … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

It's not just fish, plastic pollution harms the bacteria that help us breathe

Ten per cent of the oxygen we breathe comes from just one kind of bacteria in the ocean. Now laboratory tests have shown that these bacteria are susceptible to plastic pollution, according to a study published in Communications Biology. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Vodafone slashes dividend after vast annual loss

British telecoms giant Vodafone announced Tuesday that it recorded a vast annual net loss of 7.6 billion euros ($8.5 billion), hit partly by the sale of its Indian assets. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Uber hits fresh headwinds as shares extend losses

Uber shares went into a fresh skid Monday—more bad news for the global ride-hailing giant, which endured steep declines in its hotly anticipated market debut last week. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

San Francisco to vote on banning face recognition technology

San Francisco supervisors will vote on surveillance oversight legislation Tuesday that includes a ban on the use of facial recognition technology by police and other city departments. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Monsanto ordered to pay $2 bn in new Roundup trial

A jury in California on Monday ordered Bayer-owned Monsanto to pay more than $2 billion damages to a couple that sued on grounds the weed killer Roundup caused their cancer, lawyers said. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Brazilian giant's comeback shows preservation and development of Amazon is possible

Several meters long and weighing hundreds of kilograms, the Amazon's pirarucu was almost fished to extinction. But the creation of sustainable development reserves in Brazil has ensured the giant fish—and its indigenous hunters—are flourishing again. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Vodafone sells New Zealand arm for $2.2bn

British telecoms giant Vodafone announced the sale of its wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary to an investment consortium Tuesday in a deal worth NZ$3.4 billion (US$2.2 billion). | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

'Step-change' in energy investment needed to meet climate goals: IEA

The world must double spending on renewable power and slash investment in oil and coal by 2030 to keep the Paris climate treaty temperature targets in play, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Tuesday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

In robotics classes, Armenian teens dream of high-tech future

In a sleek classroom in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, one of the poorest post-Soviet republics, 14-year-old Nazeli Ter-Petrosyan peers at the screen of her Apple Mac. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Big Brother-style surveillance gives new insight into Amazon's hidden wildlife

Scientists are deploying ultra-sensitive sensors in the Amazon to collect images and sounds of the rainforest's rich biodiversity in real time, in an effort to track preservation efforts. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

NASA dubs 2024 Moon mission 'Artemis,' asks for $1.6 billion

NASA's next mission to the Moon will be called Artemis, the US space agency announced Monday, though it's still looking for the money to make the journey happen by its accelerated 2024 deadline. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Scientists use historical data to create first assessment of human impacts on biodiversity

The way humans use land across the British Isles has changed beyond recognition during the past 8,000 years. But what impact has that had on biodiversity and are there lessons from the past that could enhance conservation practices now and in the future? | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Colonial policies can result in economic growth

A new study in the Review of Economic Studies suggests that areas where Dutch colonizers built sugar factories in the 19th century are more developed today. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

US journalism has become more subjective: study

U.S.-based journalism has gradually shifted away from objective news and offers more opinion-based content that appeals to emotion and relies heavily on argumentation and advocacy, according to a new RAND Corporation report. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Silicon Valley 'Hackathon': Coders target deadly California wildfires

Silicon Valley is not going to stop the next California inferno with computer code, but a small army of software developers got together in Fremont, Calif., recently to brainstorm new technology to cut the losses. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

They call it a 'bat apocalypse.' The fungus causing it is spreading across Texas

The fungus that kills bats showed up in Texas only two years ago, but now it is marching across the state | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

15-foot great white shark is being tracked off the Carolinas. It weighs 2,137 pounds

Shark trackers say a 15-foot, 2,137-pound great white shark is traveling up the Carolinas coast on a path toward the Outer Banks. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Bike to Work Week: Are e-bikes the answer to health, traffic and environmental issues?

Melissa Wenzel got rid of her Toyota Prius in April 2018. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Apple's new TV app lets users download this season's 'Game of Thrones' episodes

Furthering its push into the burgeoning streaming TV industry, Apple launched a new app that it hopes will help consumers navigate an increasingly cluttered world of direct-to-consumer platforms. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Highly endangered Florida grasshopper sparrows reared in captivity are released

Three of the rarest birds in Florida took an extraordinary adventure this week, slipping out of a large pen into the freedom of an expansive, treeless prairie south of Orlando. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Wait, is that video real? The race against deepfakes and dangers of manipulated recordings

It used to take a lot of time and expertise to realistically falsify videos. Not anymore. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Catapulting spider winds up web to launch at prey: study

Just when you thought spiders couldn't get any more terrifying. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Facebook to pay US content reviewers more amid criticism

Facebook is raising how much it pays U.S. contractors who do some of its most taxing work, including watching violent and other objectionable material for possible removal. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Signals to noise in acoustic vehicles alerting systems

If you've ever wished for a quieter commute, you may be in luck: The low-emission electric vehicles of tomorrow are expected to lower noise pollution as well as air pollution. In Europe, and across the world, the prospect of a future powered by environmentally friendly electric v … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Echo chambers may not be as dangerous as you think, new study finds

In the wake of the 2016 American presidential election, western media outlets became almost obsessed with echo chambers. With headlines like "Echo Chambers are Dangerous" and "Are You in a Social Media Echo Chamber?" news media consumers have been inundated by articles discussing … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Coastal organisms trapped in 99-million-year-old amber

Most amber inclusions are organisms that lived in the forest. It is very rare to find sea life trapped in amber. However, an international research group led by Prof. Wang Bo from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) repor … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Apple revamps TV app for direct subscriptions to channels

Apple users will be able to subscribe to HBO, Showtime and a handful of other channels directly through Apple's new TV app, bypassing the need to download or launch a separate app. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Study expands understanding of bacterial communities for global next-generation wastewater treatment and reuse systems

A University of Oklahoma-led interdisciplinary global study expands the understanding of activated sludge microbiomes for next-generation wastewater treatment and reuse systems enhanced by microbiome engineering. Wastewater treatment and reuse are critical to global health and su … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

NASA-NOAA satellite catches Tropical Cyclone Ann threatening Queensland

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Southern Pacific Ocean and captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Ann in the Coral Sea, off the east coast of Queensland, Australia. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

NASA funds aviation research on a new fuel concept

Researchers at the University of Illinois are leading a newly funded project from NASA to develop a novel approach for all-electric aircraft. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Collagen fibres grow like a sunflower

Collagen fibrils are a major component of the connective tissues found throughout the animal kingdom. The cable-like assemblies of long biological molecules combine to form tissues as varied as skin, corneas, tendons or bones. The development of these complex tissues is the subje … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Bayer admits Monsanto may have other 'watch lists'

German chemical giants Bayer admitted Monday its subsidiary Monsanto could have kept lists of key figures—for or against pesticides—"in other European countries", and not just in France. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Energy from seawater: Power generator autonomously switches between two functional modes

Underwater vehicles, diving robots, and detectors require their own energy supply to operate for long periods independent of ships. A new, inexpensive system for the direct electrochemical extraction of energy from seawater offers the advantage of also being able to handle short … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Facebook removes fake Italian accounts ahead of EU election

Facebook shut down phony Italian accounts and pages spreading fake news ahead of European Union parliamentary elections, prompting opposition lawmakers to call Monday for tougher laws to curb online misinformation. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

415.26 parts per million: CO2 levels hit historic high

Scientists in the United States have detected the highest levels of planet-warming carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere since records began, sounding new alarm over the relentless rise of man-made greenhouse gas emissions..26 | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

New research accurately predicts Australian wheat yield months before harvest

Topping the list of Australia's major crops, wheat is grown on more than half the country's cropland and is a key export commodity. With so much riding on wheat, accurate yield forecasting is necessary to predict regional and global food security and commodity markets. A new stud … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Research sheds light on UK's new unsustainable viewing habits

A new study looks behind closed doors to reveal how UK viewing habits are shifting away from traditional broadcasting with more data-intensive streaming options now the default for many. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Domestic policy driven by intergovernmental bodies not citizens, research finds

Citizens are increasingly being marginalized by intergovernmental organizations for the attention of national politicians and influence over domestic policies, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Researchers find evolutionary backing in analysis of mammalian vertebrae

Differences in numbers of vertebrae are most extreme in mammals which do not rely on running and leaping, such as those adapted to suspensory locomotion like apes and sloths, a team of anthropologists has concluded in a study appearing in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Study uncovers key mechanism that allows some of the world's deadliest viruses to replicate

Viruses are masterful invaders. They cannibalize host cells by injecting their genetic material, often making thousands of copies of themselves in a single cell to ensure their replication and survival. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Study explores privatization of public systems of justice

Since the 1980s, federal and local governments have increasingly used public money to hire private firms to house and manage people who are incarcerated. In the last few years, the number of incarcerated individuals held in privately operated institutions has risen sharply. A new … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Perceived union support buoys 'meaningfulness of work' measures

While it has long been thought that the "union premium" extends to a labor union's ability to provide higher wages, better benefits and increased job security to workers, new research from a University of Illinois expert who studies identity and meaning in occupations and organiz … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

New data platform illuminates history of humans' environmental impact

The human environmental footprint is not only deep, but old. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Scientists bioengineer a cellular speedometer

An all-Princeton research team has identified bacteria that can detect the speed of flowing fluids. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago